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<br />force and would like to work the action items that are listed on the agenda and <br />move forward. <br /> <br />Mr. Sharpe agreed completely with Mr. Price. He said there have been issues that <br />were continually discussed as far as what should be done regarding crime. He <br />said Mr. Price outlined things that were needed and suggested Council to take <br />steps as Mr. Crow alluded to; the Council being the task force. Mr. Sharpe felt it <br />should be the Council’s duty and responsibility to work to keep U City residents <br />safe and hoped the Council would follow through on it. <br /> <br />Mayor Welsch stated she worked with Mr. Glickert on this project and that the task <br />force was very different from what the Chief of Police requested and the work of <br />what the police department would do. She said this was a suggestion to put <br />together a group a residents who could help our police department do their job <br />better by involving more residents. Mayor Welsch said Captain Carol Jackson <br />made it clear that the City of University City provided information and many <br />programs for residents to deal with crime prevention; however, the reach of the <br />programs have been very small. Mayor Welsch said Captain Jackson also felt that <br />a task force of citizens would help Council understand how to get the message out <br />about these programs and other programs outside of University City which would <br />only make the Police Department’s job easier. Mayor Welsch said she believed in <br />the grassroots approach and did not believe every decision and input on issues of <br />concern should only come from the seven people on the Council. She felt it was <br />important to encourage and solicit input from residents. Mayor Welsch stated that <br />the residents should be more educated about the reality of crime. She noted due <br />to the high level of media coverage on violent crimes in the community, many <br />residents have a perception that the City is not safe. Mayor Welsch felt it is part of <br />Council’s job to help people understand the reality of crime in the community and <br />this task force could help in that area. She stated that University City has had <br />seven violent crimes in the area, but other types of crimes have continued to <br />decrease. Mayor Welsch said the task force would help get more people on board <br />and understand how to protect themselves and it would limit the high number of <br />false alarms. She said Chief Adams told her that out of the hundreds of calls <br />received only 2% of the calls were valid. Mayor Welsch also stated that informing <br />residents of how to protect their homes and when to call would save the City <br />money. She said a task force was not a top-down approach and it saddened her <br />that the Council’s opinion was that everything had to come from them because she <br />believed residents have input to offer to the City. She said that the residents want <br />to be involved and the Council should encourage that. She stated that a task force <br />would send a signal that the City was aware of their concerns and wanted to <br />engage them in alleviating those concerns. Mayor Welsch recommended <br />approval of a Citizen’s Task Force and pointed out that Chief Adams was present <br />if anyone had any questions. <br /> <br />Mr. Price stated that they have had meetings on crime in their ward with large <br />turnouts. Mr. Price did not agree with the statement of resident not getting <br />involved. He said they have involved a lot of the residents out of the Third Ward <br />in the police focus groups which was one of the best organizations “bar none” in <br />St. Louis County. Mr. Price said he and Mr. Sharpe have been involved with this <br />11 <br /> <br /> <br />